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The Valley
Ground Name: The Valley
The Valley is a 27,111-capacity stadium which is home to Charlton Athletic F.C. Charlton's support have an unusually intense bond with the ground due to the unique circumstances under which the initial stadium was built. In 1919, the club was looking for a new home, and identified a chalk pit in Charlton, but lacked the funds to develop the site. An army of volunteer Charlton supporters dug out a massive pit for the pitch, and used the soil from the excavation to build up the sides. (The ground's name most likely comes from its original valley-like appearance). In 1984, the supporters would again step in to rescue the club after it was placed in administration. A supporters' trust successfully acquired the club but lacked the finance to make neccessary safety improvements to the stadium. The Valley was closed and Charlton were forced to enter a groundshare arrangement with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. The ground lay in disrepair until 1988 when, in an event that harkened back to the ground's initial construction, thousands of supporters volunteered to clean the ground, eventually burning the debris in a huge bonfire on the pitch. By this time, however, the large terraces were no longer seen as desirable or safe. Charlton supporters then proposed a brand-new stadium to surround the original pitch. When the Greenwich Borough Council turned down plans to renovate the ground, the supporters formed their own political party, the Valley Party, and ran candidates for all but two Greenwich Council seats, sparing the two councillors who had approved the new stadium plans. The party won almost 15,000 votes in the 1990 elections, successfully pressuring the council to approve the plans for the new stadium. In 1991, construction began on the new Valley, and the club moved from Selhurst Park to West Ham's Upton Park, before returning to their spiritual home in 1992. Since Charlton's return to The Valley, the ground has undergone some remarkable changes. The north, east and west sides of the ground have been almost completely rebuilt, giving the ground a capacity of over 27,000. There are ambitious plans to extend the capacity to 40, 000 in the future. Return from The Valley to Charlton Athletic
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